


The Hawk and the Lion

by Aspen (silveraspen)



Category: Arthurian Mythology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-21
Updated: 2008-12-21
Packaged: 2018-01-25 03:01:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1628102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveraspen/pseuds/Aspen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An old manuscript gives rise to a new tale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hawk and the Lion

**Author's Note:**

> Written for tarimanveri

 

 

The Hawk and the Lion

Introduction:

While this tale is not among those found in the White Book of Rhydderch, according to the list of its contents made in the early-to-middle seventeenth century by Dr. John Davies of Mallwyd, it is important to note that Davies' account indicates that some leaves of the original manuscript had by that time already been lost. 

"The Hawk and the Lion" was discovered during recent excavation at the Strata Florida Abbey in Ceredigion. It appears that the leaves comprising this tale, along with some additional remnants of other works, were collected together and for reasons unknown were set aside within what archaeologists currently theorize to have been a storage compartment located in the chapel presumed to have been part of the Abbey's gatehouse.

The story of Owein mab Urien and Gwalchmai ap Gwyar as told in these pages appears to closely correlate with events described in the latter sections of Chretien de Troyes' poem Yvain, le Chevalier au Lion, although the fact that it is related from a different viewpoint and thus a different narrative style from both Y Tair Rhamant and de Troyes' romances may lend further credence to the theory that all derive from a common source. For purposes of a more direct comparative evaluation, therefore, this translation has been slightly adapted in order to incorporate names that correspond to de Troyes' work.

*****

Never have I been so glad to hear that another should be named the victor in a fight as at the moment when my lord Arthur declared to the lady of Noire Espine that she should yield up a portion of her inheritance unto her sister, for not only did my lord's wisdom defeat the evil cause of she who called upon me to champion her, but also would have conferred the title unto my dear and well-loved companion Yvain, who alone above all others would I have chosen for such honour.

As we laid aside our arms in gladness and began to divest ourselves of our armour, my heart bled to see revealed the hurts that I had inflicted on him all-unknowing, for they were such as would have doomed most men to the darkness of the grave. I made to speak (although what I would have said I recall not and so could not now tell you) but was thwarted in my attempt by the cry of alarm that rose from the far reaches of the nearby crowd. It was a lion, a great beast with golden mane, that drew near swiftly and which, upon catching sight of Yvain, created such a roar as shook the earth and so is scarce to be believed, although I give you my oath that it happened as I have said. Then did the lion make as if to charge toward us, and all the people fled in terror from its path. Ignorant of my own wounds, for it was certain that the beast meant to gain my friend's side, I snatched up my sword and made ready for the battle to come, when Yvain cried out for all to remain still and to fear not, for the lion was in truth a companion of his.

Then it was that my shame bid fair to overwhelm me, for in that very moment it became clear to me that it was none other than my own dear companion who had done me a kindness without compare in the slaying of the cruel and wicked giant who had threatened to become the ruin of my own family in the persons of my nephews and my niece, and I said to him, "I am such a fool as deserves harsh mockery, for I did not realize that it was you who bestowed on me such a service as can never be repaid. I have been troubled for some time by the report that 'the Knight with the Lion' and I were known to each other as companions and friends, but as much as I gave thought to it, I could not make sense of the truth of it until now."

As I began to kneel, to humble myself before him, Yvain caught my shoulder with a hand in restraint. Laughing, he said, "If you are a fool, Gauvain, it is only in believing that there could ever be any debt between us, much less shame or guilt, for I swear to you that none such could exist." He caught my face between his hands so that I could not but look him in the eye, and on doing so all doubt was removed, and then we embraced and kissed each other and were near overcome with the joy of it all.

With the lion in close attendance, we removed ourselves from the field of battle and into the sick-room to await a gentler care, for our lord Arthur made it plain that he would brook no delay in the tending of our wounds. The healers would have taken us to different chambers in the thought that each could perhaps rest more easily alone, but Yvain argued against such a separation when we had already been apart so long and had so much of which to speak, and I was nothing loath to agree; nor would the lion be parted from him who he saw as his companion, and in truth the healers were not minded to insist against either of them.

By then it was dark, and when all was done and the surgeon for which Arthur had sent was finished and departed, leaving behind all manner of stern warnings and admonitions to rest, full night had descended. The lion had made his bed on the warmth of a rug laid before the door, clearly intending to himself stand as guard that nothing else might harm his friend. Yvain, for his part, was not so easily settled, and as he continued to shift back and forth restlessly upon his bed I became concerned and called out to him, "What demon hounds you so, that you are in such distress? Have I hit you harder than I knew?"

"No," he replied, "for all that I will not deny you have a strong arm, Gauvain, this wound lies deeper still. Despite how happy I am at this our reunion, seeing you so harmed and by my own hand strikes me harder than any blow, enough so that I could almost wish that-"

"Say it not," I broke in, and swung my legs down from my own bed to the floor. Standing, I made my way to his bedside, lowering myself to sit beside him with as much ease as I could show. "See? Already I heal; now you but do the same, and neither of us shall have further cause for grief."

"I would that it were so," Yvain said, "but one grief yet remains to me, and it is that my lady Laudine will not forgive."

"Ah." I was quiet for some few seconds. "I suppose I can understand, come to that, and the more so as I was the one who convinced you to leave her and come with us; had you been taken from me so, and never returned, well..." Knowing his impatience, I fell silent, waiting, and at length Yvain could endure no more and burst out, "Well, what? You cannot leave it at that!"

"Exactly so, nor would I have, and nor did we when first it was you sought the mysterious Lady of the Fountain, for when you did not return, we came in search of you. Laudine, however, could not so leave her home, and thus her temper grew in forced idleness instead of action. But now that more time has passed, she will forgive you, Yvain; does not delay bring fruit to ripen in sweetness?"

I reached out to give his shoulder a light buffet, meaning to shake him from his darkness, but he caught at my arm instead, staying my hand. "Does it?" His grip was strong and sure as he held me still. "Does it truly, Gauvain? You and I have been parted for no small time, enough so that we knew each other not on the field; do you forgive?"

It was my turn to laugh, and to place my hands on either side of his face as I leaned closer to him so that he could see clearly and have no misgivings. "There is nothing to forgive, Yvain, for one or the other of us will always be called away in quest of adventure at one time or another; we must merely see to it that we always return. Idleness is not in our nature, dear companion, but mere absence cannot divide us." 

His despair lifted at my words and certainty, and Yvain shifted his grasp, drawing me down to lie beside him. "Then while we have each other, let us make the most of it." 

 


End file.
